Hylore – Seahold (Noreland Capital) Spring 2344 AS

  Day 8

  The grave chill I felt made climbing the ladder feel more like a chore than it should have. My joints ached with every rung.

  I eventually reached the top and sat on the ground floor. I extinguish my lantern and put it away. One of the staff saw me and disappeared with a nod. Hopefully, he was off to get Tavernkeeper Matilda. I sat there for a few moments just breathing as this new adverse status effect was taking its toll on me.

  I heard the sounds of footsteps approaching and turned to see Tavernkeeper Matilda striding across the kitchens towards me.

  "You have returned, Adventurer Hector. What did you find behind the wall?" She asked, a bit worried, looking at me.

  "I have encountered somewhat mixed results. Unfortunately, I have not killed the rats as you requested. I have blocked a route I discovered from the sewers. It is not perfect, but it would delay them for a few days, hopefully." She nodded along with my words, somewhat disappointed, it seems, that I do not kill the rats by adding more to tell. "Behind the wall, I found a sarcophagus in a small tomb. We then found an active undead, which has been disposed of."

  She gave a sharp intake of breath when I mentioned the undead, and her face paled.

  "Are you sure it has been destroyed?" I could hear the fear in a voice.

  I nod. "The System confirmed the kill."

  Her relief at my words was clear, but I can still see she had many concerns and fears. "I will need to bring in the temples to progress the ground and then some proper masons to block the route from the sewers you described."

  I stood up, complaints being registered from my knees, especially. "Unfortunately, will have to report to the Guild my failure to kill the rats as you requested. But I also must report the elimination of the undead."

  "Of course. Thank you for trying." She wasn't paying attention to me, but she was looking at the trapdoor leading to the basement. I suspect she is imagining all types of horrors coming up from it.

  "Do not be afraid, Tavernkeeper Matilda. The undead down there have been stopped. Bringing in the temples quickly will save you the chance of any more appearing."

  She closed the trapdoor, and I saw her move a heavy box over it. "Yes, I will do that right away."

  I bid my farewells and walked back into the street from the common room. It was hard to stay positive, as I felt a weight on my head and shoulders, and the cold settled in my joints. The day wasn't cold, but inside my armour I was shivering. It was the cold from outside, but it was also the cold that was already within me, which would not let go.

  I changed my map locator to the Guild and set back along the road.

  As I walk, I think about what I had encountered down there in the tomb. I have been lucky, but I couldn't rely on that in the future. I needed to research more about how to fight the undead effectively.

  I slowly move down the streets, turning when I must, so lost in my thoughts, and as I pass an alleyway, I hear a groan and then laughter. I find it odd and stop, turning my head.

  The alleyway is darker than the street, but I can only make out a very odd scene to me. For members of what appears to be the Watch surrounding a man lying on the ground. They are the ones laughing, and he is the one groaning. My mind isn't functioning properly, and it takes me a few moments to grasp what is happening. A vicious kick by one of the Watch quickly reinforces what I'm thinking.

  "Pay what you owe us or face more pain." The largest of the four Watch members told a man on the ground. His back was to me, and none of the others had noticed me yet, either.

  I wanted to walk on. I tried to forget what I was seeing.

  I did not move.

  In life, there are moments when you will be called to action. Depending on the person you are, your reaction to them varies. I got the feeling that this was one of them.

  There were four men or members of the Watch. What they were doing wasn't legal as far as I can tell. I was no scholar on local law, but what they were doing was wrong to me.

  I let out a dispirited sigh and reach down to my hip where my pistol was in its holster. I unclipped it and placed my hand on the handgrip. I was still unused to holding firearms, and the gun felt strange in my hand. I was still wearing my gauntlets, but the weirdness of it still sat with me.

  I turned and walked into the alleyway.

  "Excuse me, is there some issue here?" I called out. My voice echoes slightly in the narrow alley, and the four men suddenly turned and looked at me.

  "Get outta here, this is Watch business!" One exclaimed.

  I got a good look at these four men, noting their different reactions to my presence. The biggest of them had a nasty look to him, and the scar down the side of his face only added to that aura. The other two seemed more follower types, but no less suspicious or cruel. The fourth would be one I would have to keep an eye on. He looked as sadistic as the others but was far quieter. I had learned from my youth that you had to be most aware of the quiet ones in these groups.

  "That's right, this is Watch business. Be on your way or be arrested." The big one snarled. Everything about him screamed bully, but I stood my ground.

  "I'm afraid I'm no scholar on local law, but it seems to me that for review beating down a single man is somewhat excessive." I did my best to keep my voice level and calm. Inside, I was afraid, but I knew I had to stand my ground.

  Before he spoke again, one of the others butted in. "Jarrod, he is armed."

  With those words, all four of them put their hands on their battens. They had drawn them yet, but were eyeing me up now more cautiously. I realise that, because of the angle of the light entering the alleyway, I was silhouetted against it. I can see their eyes looking me over, noting my armour and finally dropping to the pistol at my waist and my hand upon it.

  The realisation that I was carrying a gun shifted the nature of this confrontation. Tension became thick in the air between us.

  "Drop the gun and get your knees with your hands behind your head." Jarrod barked in a tone that was a mixture of command and threat.

  "No," I answered firmly. With that word, I pulled the hammer back on the back of the gun. The clicking sound of the hammer being pulled back echoed down the alleyway, ramping up the tension in the air.

  "We are the Watch, and you are under arrest for bearing a firearm within the city." Jarrod barked again, but this time less sure. He was doing his best to hide his fear behind bravado and bluster.

  "As an adventurer, I am allowed to bear arms and use them when appropriately required," I spoke the rule from the adventurous handbook. "And this seems a very appropriate time to me."

  Naming myself as an adventurer sent another ripple of unease through them. They knew the System's rules bound me. This meant I could not lie if put in front of a System interrogator, and I would be forced to speak nothing but the truth. Several of them glanced at the man on the ground, knowing what that truth would be.

  I grip the handle of my gun, ready to draw it. I shifted my stance slightly, prepared to pull the trigger and start firing. My shift in posture was not lost on the men before me, and they could see the signs that I was preparing for violence.

  That's the thing with bullies. When they outnumber you, you think you're weak; they are powerful and dangerous. Facing off against someone who could fight back and had an advantage, they were far less willing to engage. I could see them doing mathematics in their heads. Jarrod would be the ultimate want to call it, but the other one was one I had to watch. If we were in a more open space, they would be trying to flank me right now. I see it as shifting quickly around the alleyway, trying to identify an advantage.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Jarrod understood that this would end badly for him. He was the most significant target, and in this narrow space, he was the closest to me. If this escalated to violence, he would be the first to be introduced to the hot lead sent in their direction.

  "Let's go." He snarled, admitting defeat. His face had turned an ugly red, and I knew that this was not over between us. Men like him do not give up easily and will seek vengeance.

  They began pulling back deeper into the alleyway towards the other street it went out onto. I got vague threats and warnings from them as they pulled back, but they kept their eyes on me as I did them. My hand never left the pistol's handgrip. I remain silent.

  Once they were out onto the street and gone, I finally let out the breath I was holding. I took my hand from the handgrip and picked the man up from the ground. He was severely beaten, and it was impossible to tell whether something was broken as he was swaying quite a bit on his feet.

  I helped him back out into the better-lit street. I looked around and realised I was on the road that the Sealochs lived on. In my funk, I had not realised where I was as I made my way to the Adventurer's Guild. The danger of the confrontation with the Watch had pushed the grave chill effects to the back of my mind, but now they returned with a vengeance.

  I gritted my teeth and pushed past them. As I looked around the street, I noticed many people were hiding and glancing out of windows or other places that gave them a view of the street. The Sealochs, with only the people visible at their storefront, both looked in my direction with great concern. One of the rundown houses, the front door opened, and a middle-aged woman came out. She hurried across the street and took the weight of the man from me.

  "Thank you, Sir, for helping my husband. Excuse me, but I must treat his injuries." She said rather breathlessly, as she had him lean on and almost dragged him away.

  I never said anything or offered to help. It seemed that the street wanted me to hurry so they could return to normal. I didn't think it was fear of me, but fear of repercussions from those I had just stopped.

  I sighed back to myself again and walked down the street following the route on my HUD. As I passed the Sealochs, the husband nodded slightly to me in thanks, which I returned.

  I was still in the funk caused by my status effect, but it had become evident to me that I was going to have to watch my back now, in Low Town. This was a complication I neither wanted nor needed.

  I pushed now out of Low Town and into the merchant section. I saw several members of the Watch along the route I was walking, but none of them approached me or gave me any trouble. They seem to be professional and competent, unlike the forehead encountered earlier. Several looked my way but gave me no problems identifying the adventurer's sigil on my chest.

  The streets were busier with both pedestrians and horse-drawn carts. I was forced to cross several of these roads and had to dodge through the large wagons as they rolled up and down the streets. I eventually made it to the Adventurer's Guild.

  I walked into the dark room from the bright light outside and continued to allow my eyes to adjust as I moved. A few people were hanging around, but none of them intercepted me; most of them looked me over.

  I approached the reception desk, and the same woman was behind it from this morning. I pulled my gauntlets off as I approached. She was looking up expectantly at me.

  "Good afternoon, I'm here to report a quest update," I told her, which had her nod.

  "Another completion?" She asked as the orb lit before her as she typed on the strange keyboard before her.

  "Not exactly," I said as I placed my hand on the orb. She looked at me, confused by my words. The orb lit up slightly brighter, then turned blue, and a piece of paper appeared from below it.

  She picked up the paper as soon as it left the box and began reading. Her eyebrows furled as she read, quickly turning to surprise as they shot up and her eyes went wide.

  "By the Mother! I can see why now." She looked up to me, placing the paper down. "Your initial quest was a failure, but the hidden one has negated that on our records. Please step into the System shop for your reward."

  "Thank you." I was in no mood for conversation and just wanted to go back to my room and crawl into bed. As I approached the silver cylinder, the door opened. I stepped in and let the door close behind me.

  Sealed in the cylinder, I took a few moments to breathe and focus myself. It had been a stressful day, but it wasn't over yet. I reached out and placed my hand upon the lit sphere before me, which turned blue. I let the System messages wash over me.